1) Chicago BullsIncoming Players:Omer Asik, Keith Bogans, Carlos Boozer, Ronnie Brewer, Kyle Korver, Brian Scalabrine, Kurt Thomas, C.J. WatsonOutgoing Players:Kirk Hinrich, Ronald Murray, Brad Miller, Hakim Warrick, Joe Alexander, Devin Brown, Jannero Pargo, Acie LawTeam Analysis: After mainly conservative fiscal moves on the part of the front office for the better portion of the last two seasons, the Bulls finally entered this offseason as players in free agency.They finally began fully committing themselves to a championship.The results weren’t staggering.Regardless of what they try to sell the fan base, they cleared up that cash for LeBron James or Dwyane Wade.Instead they got Carlos Boozer.But the Bulls then decided to make the most of the available remaining money, and spent it on pieces that could come in and play parts for championship teams.All great teams have particular role players and the Bulls seem to have them.They have the defender in Ronnie Brewer, the three point marksman in Kyle Korver and the Bulls even brought in old, wise veterans like Kurt Thomas and Keith Bogans to be mentors in times of trouble for the team.But how will it all fit?

As is the case with any kind of massive roster overhaul, chemistry is a huge issue, and the Bulls will be dealing with this chemistry while also implementing a new system from a new head coach.Tom Thibodeau was possibly the most famous assistant in the league after his noticeable work with Boston’s defense the last three seasons.This can be seen as a blessing in disguise, seeing as how he shouldn’t have to get rid of any bad habits from the previous regime.Thibodeau’s commitment to defense will be seen as a sign of hope in Chicago, but time will tell whether or not the players buy into or even execute that style.

The Bulls do have nice pieces though.Derrick Rose is an up and coming point guard, although nowhere near the superstar that the media portrays him as, Joakim Noah is a solid big man in the middle, although nowhere near the amount of money he just received, and Carlos Boozer is a very good low post scorer, although one who relied a lot on Deron Williams setting him up in Utah.It’s fair to look at this team with a bit of reservation.The Bulls have a lot of players that play certain parts without any guarantee that those parts will fit together.Add in a new coach and new system, and the learning curve could be steep for Chicago.Even still, the division is theirs to lose.They spent their money on being competitive and at least will be more than they have in recent seasons.

2) Milwaukee BucksIncoming Players:Larry Sanders, Tiny Gallon, Darington Hobson, Earl Boykins, Jon Brockman, Keyon Dooling, Chris Douglas-Roberts, Drew Gooden, Corey Maggette, Brian SkinnerOutgoing Players: Kurt Thomas, Luke Ridnour, Jerry Stackhouse, Primoz Brezec, Royal Ivey, Dan Gadzuric, Charlie BellTeam Analysis: Undergoing just as big of an overhaul as Chicago’s, Milwaukee burst onto the scene last season as one of the biggest surprises in the entire league.After years of mediocrity at best and futility at worst, the Bucks bought into coach Scott Skiles’ desired style of play and responded by making the NBA postseason for only the second time in six seasons before pushing the Atlanta Hawks to seven games in the first round, even without center Andrew Bogut.Bogut is said to be recovering nicely from an arm injury that kept him out of the postseason and should be ready to man down the center position for the Bucks for a fifth consecutive season.Long seen as inconsistent and a bit of an underachiever, Bogut routinely was registering double digits in both points and rebounds and was, by and large, the team’s best player last season.But he was joined by the team’s most exciting player in rookie Brandon Jennings.Jennings took the league by storm by scoring 55 points in a game versus the Golden State Warriors in the third week of the season.His offense was erratic, at best, for a majority of the year, but his playmaking improved drastically over the last portion of the season.

Because the Bucks felt that they were close to becoming a great team, GM John Hammond was given the green light to make aggressive, costly moves in hopes of becoming among the NBA’s best teams again.The results were nice.After trading for Corey Maggette, the Bucks resigned John Salmons, a big reason why the team surged to the postseason last year, gave a long term deal to Drew Gooden and filled in the pieces with more small moves and with their draft picks.Players like Maggette and Gooden come with recognizable names, but with games that haven’t hugely contributed to much success in the NBA.Probably where Maggette will best contribute to Milwaukee is in his ability to get to the free throw line, something the Bucks as a team were the worst at in the entire league.The Bucks are hoping that Gooden can slide in and play alongside Bogut.He’ll give you a sold, if unspectacular, stat line on a nightly basis but teams like Orlando and Cleveland will tell you not to rely too much on Gooden’s consistency.

Although the new pieces are nice, a lot of this team will rely on the improvements of players like Jennings, Bogut, Ersan Ilyasova and continued, solid production out of players like Jon Brockman, Chris Douglas-Roberts and Carlos Delfino.In an ideal scenario, all of those pieces fall into place for Milwaukee and the team takes the entire league by storm.But there’s great potential for a crash and burn here.Skiles’ style has soured elsewhere before, a lot of the names they brought in haven’t achieved much before, and Bogut has still not proven he can have a consistent and relatively injury free year.All needs to go right for Milwaukee to reach its full potential, but there’s a chance all could go right.

3) Indiana PacersIncoming Players: Paul George, Lance Stephenson, Magnum Rolle, Darren Collison, James PoseyOutgoing Players: Earl Watson, Troy Murphy, Luther HeadTeam Analysis: For the past two seasons, the Pacers have been in the dangerous “good but not great” category, making them one of the most bland and unexciting teams in basketball.The best example of this is in their very own stadium, where the NBA’s finest venue and one of its most dedicated fan bases seem very much split apart.In the beginning of this decade, the Pacers were among one of the NBA’s best teams on a yearly basis only to see the character of some of the guys they brought in result in the team being imploded from the inside-out, and seeing one of the most disturbing crash and burns in NBA history.But the Pacers dedicated themselves to building a team full of good character, marketable guys and now they need to get dedicated to winning.The moves they made this offseason showed there’s at least a direction towards being dedicated to winning.

One of the biggest moves made outside of the max free agents going elsewhere this offseason was the Pacers acquiring Darren Collison in a trade back in August.The result hopefully will be the end to a revolving door at the point guard position for Indiana, who has unsuccessfully tried anyone at that position in recent years, including the uninspiring performances of Earl Watson and T.J. Ford last season.Collison is coming off of a year where he subbed in for all world point guard Chris Paul in New Orleans and did an admirable job: putting up very inspiring numbers, showing consistency on a jump shot that was largely critiqued leading up to his being drafted and being rewarded with a spot on the NBA’s All-Rookie First Team as a result.Also not to be overlooked is the Pacers acquiring James Posey from New Orleans in the same trade.Although Posey’s contract causes people to negatively react towards his play, his personality, experience and play could mean wonders in terms of giving this team an identity or just giving this relatively soft bunch a bit of an attitude.

The Pacers return Danny Granger, fresh off of a first place finish with the USA team in the World Championships, and the improving Roy Hibbert as the main pieces in terms of how they will play this season.Granger still seems a bit one dimensional, but it’s hard to truly evaluate his game until he plays with teammates who he genuinely should defer to in given situations.Hibbert isn’t your typical seven-footer in that he’s not a dominant low post player nor is he even a consistently good player facing the basket.But he’s a solid team defense guy and is a good enough low post player to where teams can’t leave him alone.Although Pacers fans may have thrown their hands up and been dissatisfied with the conduct of second round draft choice Lance Stephenson this offseason, it’s really the most noticeable conduct issue in the past few seasons on a team that was routinely in the news for only that reason.Pacers fans are still a long ways away from being truly happy with their team, but seeing what Larry Bird was able to do with Troy Murphy’s expiring deal in the offseason had to be encouraging.Soon enough, the Pacers will have room to operate as well and then we can officially evaluate Bird’s job as a GM.They’re still further away from that than the optimism created by the Collison trade would indicate, but there’s finally light at the end of the tunnel for the Pacers.

4) Detroit PistonsIncoming Players: Greg Monroe, Terrico White, Vernon Hamilton, Tracy McGradyOutgoing Players: Chucky Atkins, Kwame BrownTeam Analysis: After six consecutive trips to the Eastern Conference Finals, two NBA Finals appearances and one NBA Championship from a largely successful run for Detroit, the Pistons made the decision a couple of years ago to blow up the roster.Since then, the Pistons have undergone two head coaching changes, seen their win total drop from 59 to 39 to 27, and have only Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Rodney Stuckey and Jason Maxiell remaining from that 2008 team that made its sixth and final trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.When the Pistons made their initial decision to shake up the roster, much was made about the possibility of them being players in this past summer’s free agent market.However, Joe Dumars spent the majority of that cleared cap space last offseason, being proactive in the acquisitions of players like Ben Gordon and Charlie Villanueva.The results, however, were not very promising.Gordon and Villanueva both showed a lot of their bad qualities over the course of the season, and huge improvements need to be made by both players if the Pistons want to be competitive this season.

Stuckey is entering a make or break season this year with the Pistons, as is probably coach John Kuester.Both have been praised for their performances in supporting roles, although neither have done extraordinary when much is asked of them.In Kuester’s case, the Pistons could have been justified in firing him after only one season (they had just done so to Michael Curry in 2009 after a much better season than last year’s) but Dumars felt that Kuester’s potential and continuity would serve the team well this offseason.While a lot of teams made huge roster overhauls this offseason, including two very publicized teams in Chicago and Milwaukee in their own division, the Pistons are banking that a continued year of growth and development will go a long way in determining their success this season.Much of that is reliant on Rodney Stuckey, the player who once made Chauncey Billups expendable.Stuckey has been largely inconsistent, but the team still remains committed to seeing him succeed in Detroit.

But the Pistons roster is still divided between players who are young and promising, and players who are old and declining.Some could see that as a nice bridging of the gap.I feel that’d be a better sell had the team not just won 27 games last season.The move to acquire Tracy McGrady this offseason probably does nothing to dispel the confusion in regards to Detroit’s roster, but the Pistons are hoping he can recover from his knee injuries to play a solid role at both backup guard positions.There’s also confusion on what kind of team the Pistons will be.After a unusually porous performance from the team’s defense last season, Dumars promised better results this year, but they return a lot of the same players.We still don’t’ know if a lot of their players can fully succeed in a half court system either. There are a lot of questions In Detroit; frankly, too many to say with any certainty how they’ll perform next season.Optimists will point to last year’s injuries, pessimists will point to the contradicting roster moves in terms of players brought in, and the players ability to fit the team philosophy.A lot is on the line this season in Detroit, and change will be on their horizon if they don’t get better and do so soon.

5) Cleveland CavaliersIncoming Players: Christian Eyenga, Joey Graham, Ryan Hollins, Ramon SessionsOutgoing Players: LeBron James, Shaquille O’Neal, Delonte West, Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Sebastian Telfair,Team Analysis: No team was more largely affected by this offseason than Cleveland.After two straight seasons of having the NBA’s best record and failing to reach the NBA Finals in either season, Mike Brown was fired as the team’s head coach, and after a very public flirtation with Tim Floyd (who turned the job down due to LeBron James’ uncertain status with the team), settled for former coach of the year Byron Scott.Scott has been at the helm for two very impressive roster turnarounds in New Jersey and New Orleans and he’s about to be at the helm for another.Because Cleveland had spent so much towards being competitive the past couple of seasons, role players like Anthony Parker, Anderson Vareajo and Mo Williams are now average shooters and average defenders, overpaid hustle-type guys and shooters who really aren’t comfortable in the lead role.That doesn’t bode well for Cleveland entering this season.Add to the fact that LeBron’s departure has placed the whole city of Cleveland in a noticeable funk, and you may have a recipe for disaster this season.

Mo Williams, fresh off of a public pity party which included him admitting that he recently contemplated retirement, returns as Cleveland’s best player.He disappeared in both postseasons with the team and has been justifiably criticized for those faults.He and Antawn Jamison are the only players on the team that have shown they can carry the load on offense and contribute on a nightly basis.Only problem is, neither has done so for a good squad and both should be the subject of trade rumors all season.The Cavaliers hope that improvements from players like J.J. Hickson and incoming rookie Christian Eyenga will be bright spots for the coming seasons for the team.But with so much uncertainty regarding those players, it’s foolish to assume they’ll reach their maximum potential this season.

Cleveland has been vocal in bracing for a youth movement, which is fine if the team has much youth to turn over the new leaf.Unfortunately, they don’t.They’re still a team of players that were brought in to win now and a few nice guys who can keep you competitive on a given night.But the departure of LeBron James will be felt in the team morale, the attendance figures and, most of all, the on court production.Cleveland is still a few seasons from removing themselves from the mess that was this offseason, and it will be a slow process.It’s very possible Cleveland could find themselves right back in the bottom of the league this season.In fact, some will say that’s in the best interest of the team moving forward.With the whole city of Cleveland being personified by Mo Williams’ public cries for sympathy, it’s unlikely to expect much fire and retaliation from this bunch.

1. Los Angeles Lakers(4) - Rejoice, Los Angeles! The beloved Lakers have reclaimed their top position. The hottest team in the NBA is boasting one of its hottest players in Kobe Bryant. As of late, Kobe and Pau Gasol have elevated their play to around the level they were at around the postseason last year. The bench is getting good production even with Jordan Farmar missing time with his injury. I don't believe adding another point guard is critical for the moment but it wouldn't hurt if they could land one for cheap.

2. Atlanta Hawks(5) - The Hawks suffered a crushing loss with a near halfcourt heave at the buzzer from Vince Carter at New Jersey. That was only their second loss in twelve games. Victories over Cleveland, Denver, Houston and Detroit highlight that stretch and prove that this team is not a flash in the pan. I'm sure they won't maintain this level of competition all season long as the team is largely unproven, but don't try to dispute what they've accomplished so far this season. Not only is this team legitimate, they're talented.

3. Boston Celtics(2) - And just like that, with a loss to a depleted Portland team and to a bad New York team (coming off a week in which they lost their first game in forever in addition to a loss to a bad Golden State team) and the Celtics all of a sudden look vulnerable. I'm not going to jump off of the bandwagon and say that they're cooked, it's not a matter of if but when this team rights the ship and gets back to playing the defense that made them impossible to beat through November and December. Kevin Garnett has slowed a bit so far this season and Paul Pierce has had to carry this unit for basically the whole season. The role players have also slowed a tad, which is the main reason for the team's struggles but they'll get it back together and they'll still be there in the end.

4. Orlando Magic(3) - Something doesn't quite seem right with Hedo Turkoglu this season. All of his statistics have dropped from last season and his field goal percentage is at a laughable 38 percent. That's either meaning he's struggling to do too much in a contract year, or maybe last season was more of an aberration for the turkish born star. Overall, the Magic have been solid all season long and if he captures the form he showed last season then they'll be right up there at the top of the eastern confrence.

5. Cleveland Cavaliers(1) - Rejoice, Cavs haters! Zydrunas Ilgauskas has gone down to injury and the Cavaliers dropped two games this week, including an embarassing defeat at the hands of Washington today. For at least a week anyways, the team looked like last season's team, which relied entirely too heavily on LeBron James. What's happened to Wally Szczerbiak this season? He's the definition of a non factor, and with his expiring contract, if he showed any bit of production they could get a really good player in return for Wally World. But so far his value is worth about the same as Eric Snow's.

6. San Antonio Spurs(6) - Manu Ginobili had a huge week for the Spurs. Greg Popovich has done a fine job with his roster and has seemingly settled on a nice rotation. Tim Duncan is having the best year he's had in the past two or three and Tony Parker is currently playing like their best player. They're a dangerous unit and they're going to be there in the end, regardless of their difficult start.

7. Denver Nuggets(7) - Carmelo Anthony played hero on two separate occasions for the Nuggets this season, even if they were underwhelming in barely defeated Oklahoma City and blowing a 26 point lead at home to New Orleans. An injury to Nene for the Oklahoma City game showed no immediate hamper on the Nuggets, but if he misses any prolonged period of time they're in bad shape. They lack serious depth in the frontcourt.

8. New Orleans Hornets(9) - They still lack the consistency that they showed for so much of last season but Chris Paul is playing the best ball of any player in the NBA. The fact that he's not up there with Kobe Bryant in all star voting is unbelievable and truly speaks to the knowledge of the average NBA fan. David West has really picked up his game as of late and don't look now, but the Hornets rank among the league's best at the defensive side of the ball.

9. Detroit Pistons(15) - I've ridden no team as hard this year as I have the Pistons, but Rodney Stuckey has resurrected what was a dead season for Detroit after the Allen Iverson trade. The readdition of Antonio McDyess is as much a factor as any in the team's current winning streak and even though they may not be blowing teams out, victories are victories and the Pistons are winning ball games.

10. Portland Trail Blazers(8) - Playing without Brandon Roy hurt this team this week as they looked bad against New Orleans and the Lakers. Overall, they managed to pull out a victory against Boston and they're still playing hard even without Roy in the lineup. McMillan will never let this team play a weak game but they can't win without their all star guard in the lineup.

11. Dallas Mavericks(11) - Today's loss at Memphis was embarassing but Dirk Nowitzki has carried the Mavericks to a very strong season thus far. They're a team of wing players and that will doom them in the playoffs, but they will exceed any expectations they were given this season. Rick Carlisle has done a really good job with the Mavericks this season.

12. Phoenix Suns(13) - Shaquille O'Neal is having his best year since his last year in Los Angeles for Phoenix and the team is maintaining a steady play so far this season. Jason Richardson hasn't added much since his addition, but the team continues to win so his presence alone must be enough for the Suns to get by.

13. Utah Jazz(12) - Word of Carlos Boozer now needing surgery has to demoralize this squad even with Paul Millsap playing as fantastic as he has this season (I forgot to mention him in my most improved players list last week). The C.J. Miles experiment has worked well with him playing so steady this season. He's never going to be more than an average starter in this league but he's solid enough to where the Jazz can continue to use Andrei Kirilenko on the bench, which has worked very well for them so far this season.

14. Miami Heat(14) - An injury to Shawn Marion has thrusted Daequan Cook into the starting lineup and I think with a shipping of Marion and his expiring contract at the deadline, that can be a nice spot for Cook. Michael Beasley has been underwhelming so far this season but has shown flashes of being a nice player in this league. It's safe to say that he was a tad overhyped coming into the draft, though.

15. Houston Rockets(10) - Tracy McGrady's play this season has been absolutely pathetic. He's beyond bad at this moment and Yao Ming is shooting a percentage in the low 40s the past few games as well. With Ron Artest in and out of the lineup as well, this team is currently in a great deal of turmoil and it's evident when you watch them out on the court. Aaron Brooks has tailed off considerably since his start this season but the talent is still there for this team to turn it around. You just have to wonder if their players are tough enough to do it.

16. New Jersey Nets(16) - They're incredibly inconsistent and continue to be without a victory when Devin Harris is out of the lineup, but the Nets still, week after week, find themselves in the picture in the NBA. Vince Carter has had his fair share of last second theatrics this season and that's been a major reason for the Nets' position at the moment. They have to wonder if a postseason appearance is worth a possible run at a championship in the next two or three seasons when it comes to Carter, but we'll see what it is they're offered for Vince.

17. Milwaukee Bucks(17) - The Bucks are a team that's so difficult to put a finger on, because they have no player who's consistently great every night and they don't really scare you in any facet of their play. Yet they've been near .500 all season long and they're still in the playoff race thus far. That speaks wonders for Scott Skiles, even though I'm confused at his reluctancy to give Ramon Sessions big minutes. I've seen an increase in Tyronn Lue as of late and I don't believe he's better than Sessions.

18. Toronto Raptors(23) - Two weeks ago the Raptors were left for dead, and since then they've had a very impressive past two weeks. Chris Bosh has found the form he displayed earlier this season and the team is winning ball games without Jermaine O'Neal and Jose Calderon in the lineup. Anthony Parker has been a steady player at the shooting guard position and the Raptors have found themselves back in the discussion as far as the playoffs are concerned. It's a nice turnaround for a team that I wrote off just two weeks earlier.

19. Philadelphia 76ers(19) - If you were to look up the word "bland" in the dictionary, you would see this team's photo right beside it. Their play hasn't inreased without Elton Brand (even though I thought it would) and maybe they are what they are, a below .500 team that can't score and that isn't even that special on the defensive side of the ball. It seems like the two years of momentum that was built up by this squad was ruined with possibly unfair expectations with the Elton Brand acquisition.

20. Chicago Bulls(18) - A loss at home to Minnesota highlights a woeful week for the Bulls which was heightened even further with a horrible showing by Derrick Rose. Ben Gordon deserves serious all star consideration this season beyond the three point shootout and he's been the team's steadiest, most consistent option thus far. That probably is why they're down here at 20, but he deserves a little bit of credit after the way he was blasted and treated this offseason. He may, yet, see his big payday this offseason.

21. Indiana Pacers(25) - Mike Dunleavy is set to debut this week for the Pacers and that should help a team that still is looking to make a run at sneaking into the last playoff spot. Danny Granger has been tremendous this season even in the dissapointing year for the Pacers and Jarrett Jack has been tremendous since being inserted into the starting lineup as of late. T.J. Ford has done fine off of the bench but you have to wonder if he's the type of player that would be content with coming off of the bench.

22. Charlotte Bobcats(22) - I still can't speak enough for Boris Diaw's play since coming over from Phoenix. This Bobcats team has raised its level of play since that trade and currently has shown that they can be a pesky bunch to put away. Adam Morrison, on the other hand, is now officially ready to be labeled as a bust. He was a horrible selection as a 3rd overall draft pick (don't even get me started on Sean May). Little known Matt Caroll is better at what Morrison does than Morrison is and that's why Morrison scored for the first time in six games Saturday night. I still remember when Dick Vitale said we were all stupid for saying J.J. Reddick and Morrison wouldn't be great in the NBA.

23. Memphis Grizzlies(20) - Darius Miles made his debut this week for the Grizzlies and Steve Francis may be set to dress up anytime soon. It's amazing that those two players found their way onto the Grizzlies roster, but it's safe to say both are in dire need to prove that their careers aren't over in the NBA.

24. New York Knicks(24) - The Knicks have lost all of the good will they built up with a strong opening to the season, but still continue to play hard for coach D'Antoni. Al Harrington off of the bench has payed huge dividends as of late, including a victory today over Boston. David Lee has been tremendous this season and if they package him with a contract of Jerome James or Eddy Curry they can get another building block for the rebuilding of this proud franchise.

25. Minnesota Timberwolves(28) - The Timberwolves got back to back victories for the first time all season and got Mike Miller back from injury. Still, though, a lot is left to be done in Minnesota in order to get this team back to respectability. Kevin Love has been inconsistent in his performance this season and doesn't look like a great acquisition by Kevin McHale (and nobody honestly believed he would be) but I think, with the investment they made in him, that he needs to be shown more minutes as the season progresses.

26. Los Angeles Clippers(26) - Baron Davis, in addition to his pathetic displays on the court this season, caused controversy with a recent report of his wanting to return to the team he shafted just five months earlier. His homecoming has been nothing short of brutal but the team has got to be happy with the play of Marcus Camby and Eric Gordon as of late. They look like a team capable of hanging in tough games as long as Davis doesn't continue to shoot them out of ball games.

27. Washington Wizards(29) - The Wizards, with a run over Cleveland today, move out of the bottom two for the first time all season. Getting Caron Butler back this week has been good for the Wizards and the increase in minutes for Javaris Crittenton is a solid move by coach Tapscott. Andray Blatche has been a nice spot for what's been a dreadful season thus far and the Wizards are now starting to play harder each and every night. It's not going to amount to any kind of success this year, but it's a far cry from the team that regularly would get beat by 20 every night just a couple months prior.

28. Golden State Warriors(21) - With Stephen Jackson and Corey Maggette now publicly speaking about trade requests the horrid season for the Warriors has now reached rock bottom. The dissapointing performance has taken a back seat to the fact that the group of players that they've assembled has now made the franchise one without any kind of positive direction. It's tough to be a loyal Warrior fan, and this season is a perfect explanation of why that's so.

29. Sacramento Kings(27) - Kevin Martin came back this season and looked fantastic in his return and Brad Miller has been a steady force all season for Sacramento, but they still continue to lose. This team looked like a team with a direction this season, but so far this season hasn't shown anything other than that they're a team without much talent or direction. It's tough to see what the future holds for this franchise.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder(30) - The Thunder are really playing good basketball as of late and I wanted to move them out of the last spot for the first time all season, but can't justifiably do so. Jeff Green, this season, has looked like a player that was worthy of the draft slot they used on him and Kevin Durant have played at a very high level as of late. They're playing with more intensity than they did earlier in the season and have showed signs of a team that's on the right path as of late. That's good for that loyal fan base.

1. Los Angeles Lakers(1) - I really thought about dropping them behind Boston but I can't if they don't lose. They continue to get production out of a ton of players. Kobe Bryant may be having the quitest 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists start to any season.

2. Boston Celtics(2) - The Celtics would probably be 1a but since 1a isn't a number I'm going to put them here at number two. They're getting tremendous production out of their bench with Leon Powe, Tony Allen, Eddie House and even Brian Scalabrine putting in quality minutes. They not only boast one of the best starting fives in the league, they're incredibly deep as well.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers(3) - Even though they lost at Detroit the team continues to chug along and has looked good so far this season. Mo Williams is starting to bring his offensive production up and he's looked like a solid acquisition so far in the young season. This team is actually fun to watch and I think they're going to be a tough out for anybody in the postseason. By the way, what's all this talk about LeBron James leaving? You have all these teams gearing up to get him, when the team he's on will probably be in the best position to win. I don't see him going anywhere.

4. Denver Nuggets(7) - Nene has quietly had a great season and although this may seem high to some, this team has been absolutely lights out with Chauncey Billups on board. If they continue to get production of Linas Kleiza and J.R. Smith, that gives them two dynamic options off the bench and with Kenyon Martin playing as he is this team should be in good shape. I still think they could use frontcourt help if they're to advance deep into the postseason.

5. Houston Rockets(8) - The Rockets turned out a solid week. Aaron Brooks continues to play amazing ball and Tracy McGrady just quietly hits big shots. In the regular season at least. Yao Ming missing a game is cause for concern and is something to keep an eye on.

6. Orlando Magic(5) - There's been a J.J. Reddick sighting. I don't know how this team wins but they do. Dwight Howard had a tough week and Rashard Lewis is struggling shooting the ball but they still churn out victories. That's impressive enough to keep them as high as they are.

7. Phoenix Suns(4) - They drop by virtue of the two tough losses they suffered this week. Shaquille O'Neal continues to have a productive season and they're getting good minutes out of Grant Hill lately. They need Leandro Barbosa back and when he returns their bench will greatly compliment the production the starters have given.

8. Utah Jazz(9) - Andrei Kirilenko is playing some really good ball off the bench and C.J. Miles has looked great this week. They're going to get Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer back this week, and that alone keeps the team in the top ten. They need to get a solid, set rotation and start to gel and when they do they'll return to top Jazz form.

9. Portland Trail Blazers(12) - Portland is playing some great ball. Brandon Roy has picked up his all star form and even though Greg Oden's production has slipped the past couple of games, he's looked great off of the bench since returning from his injury. They're doing all this while LaMarcus Aldridge is in a shooting slump and when he returns to form it will only make them better.

10. Atlanta Hawks(10) - Marvin Williams has slowly showed why the Hawks chose him 2nd overall over both Chris Paul and Deron Williams. It may still be a bad move, but the guy's talented and he's playing some good ball. Joe Johnson continues to perform and they're even getting good minutes out of Acie Law. They have a solid, if inconsistent, bench.

11. Detroit Pistons(6) - That whoopin' they took at Boston ruined all momentum they had gained after the Allen Iverson trade. They followed that up by getting thrashed at home by Minnesota and the Pistons are back to square one. I don't doubt they'll climb out the hole, I just wish they wouldn't keep falling back in it. At least Rasheed Wallace has come to play, but Tayshaun Prince has cooled after his hot start and Richard Hamilton looks out of sync. It's still early, though, and this team is still the Pistons. You never can count them out.

13. Miami Heat(17) - Dwyane Wade is playing like a mad man and there's been a Shawn Marion sighting this week. If they continue to get great production out of those two the other stuff should fall into place. They're recommitting themselves to the defensive end, as well, and you like to see Wade performing at the level that he is.

14. New York Knicks(13) - I'm not too sure what to make out of the moves that they made, other than they've given up on this season. Al Harrington, Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas all fit into D'Antoni's system but I don't think they're as good as the players they let go. I thought there was an outside shot they'd make the postseason, but why fight to make the playoffs when you can build for a championship? That looks to be Donnie Walsh's approach. Things are at least interesting again (for all the right reasons) in New York.

15. Philadelphia 76ers(18) - Well Kareem Rush isn't going to single handedly make the Sixers a three point threat and they still can't shoot the long ball. There may not be a better rebounding team in the NBA, but with those jump shooters they get plent of opportunities. Elton Brand hasn't produced as he was expected to so far this season but he hit a big shot against his old team this week. He followed that up with a solid game today and we'll see if he builds off of that.

16. Milwaukee Bucks(19) - Andrew Bogut and Ramon Sessions are playing great basketball. They've played solid ball this season and all of it without Michael Redd for a majority of the season. Maybe he could be used as trade bait as I'm sure his value is still relatively high. They could get some nice building blocks for now and for the future in return for Redd, and Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (I spelled that without clarifying and I hope it's right) has been the most surprising rookie this season. What a find in the 2nd round!

17. New Jersey Nets(20) - Don't look now but Vince Carter is having a tremendous season so far. Devin Harris has been perfect in the sidekick role as well, and even though the rest of the team is so inconsistent, they find themselves at .500 for the season. Impressive job by Lawrence Frank.

18. Dallas Mavericks(25) - The Mavericks went undefeated this week so I probably should move them up higher, but I'm still relatively unimpressed after looking at their competition. Still, Dirk Nowitzki is playing tremendous basketball (what else is new) and Rick Carlisle finally has the team clicking on offense. They just are so bland as a franchise and organization, though. I doubt the Mark Cuban fiasco will be a distraction, but it has the potential to be.

19. San Antonio Spurs(15) - It was a quiet week for the Spurs, but they looked impressive against a depleted Utah team and received word that Manu Ginobili may be coming back earlier than expected. I'm not sure what to make of that news, as I thought he was supposed to be waiting until he was fully healthy, that way he'd be in top form for the stretch run. They're playing admirably without him, I see no need to rush him. George Hill looks like another one of those Spurs finds in the draft.

20. Chicago Bulls(16) - Luol Deng is the latest to bite the injury bug in Chicago. Although Ben Gordon had a slow week, Derrick Rose continues to perform beyond his experience. History tells us he'll tail off but I don't see it. Larry Hughes came back this week as well, adding some depth to a backcourt that was so depleted it signed Lindsey Hunter for insurance.

21. Toronto Raptors(14) - Even with tremendous weeks from Anthony Parker and Andrea Bargnani this team is continuing to struggle. Bargnani is out of place starting at the 3 spot and although Chris Bosh continues to flourish, I question the direction and overall makeup of this team. I'm not sure what to make of them as a squad as I've thought of them highly and at the moment think of them poorly. They need to develop consistency and find a way to build that team around Chris Bosh and do it quickly, or else he may be out the door.

23. Sacramento Kings(21) - John Salmons has looked terrific in Kevin Martin's absence. A win at New Orleans this week is the only thing that keeps me from pointing at their slow decline, but injuries have hit hard in Sac-town. Mikkie Moore and Kevin Martin will come back soon and when they do I look for this team to continue to be a thorn in the opposition's side.

24. Golden State Warriors(23) - Now that Al Harrington is gone and Jamaal Crawford is coming in, this team improved both the clubhouse and the talent level on the squad. Anthony Morrow cooled considerably after a great two game stretch early in the week, but if he brings half of that production backing up Crawford then this team will be in good position to make some sort of run around mid to late December.

25. Minnesota Timberwolves(29) - A good week for Minnesota as they pick up two wins and get a good game from Randy Foye. Al Jefferson is as steady as they come and they looked impressive in that game at Detroit. I'm not too sure what to make of their last two first round draft picks (Kevin Love and Corey Brewer) but maybe I'm being too harsh when I say they look like good players who were taken too high in the lottery.

26. Memphis Grizzlies(26) - Well the hot start to the season that the Grizzlies had is the only thing saving their season. O.J. Mayo is this year's Kevin Durant (as far as putting up good rookie numbers on a bad team) and Rudy Gay hasn't been as commanding as he was last season. They're not getting much production past Marc Gasol in the front court but we didn't expect them to get much either.

27. Charlotte Bobcats(24) - Larry Brown has to be kicking himself in the head. This organization has been badly mishandled, from the placement (why you would give a town that failed it's previous franchise another franchise befuddles me, especially when you see them failing this team as well) to the operation of the franchise (Michael Jordan being in any executive position disallows us from taking them serious), to the production of the players (D.J. Augustin is the only reason to get excited in Charlotte) and you have all the makings of another, dissapointing season in Charlotte. You have to wonder when the Bobcats will make the turn.

28. Los Angeles Clippers(28) - Chris Kaman has played just as strongly as he did last season but he and Zach Randolph have similar games. Both are good low post, back to the basket type players (although Kaman is much better) and I'm not sure how they'll fit together. I also don't know where this puts Marcus Camby in the rotation as well but I guess we'll have to watch it all unfold. I don't think there's any chance of Mike Dunleavy finishing this season.

29. Washington Wizards(27) - So irrelevant I almost forgot them. There's not much to be said about this team and there's not much of a chance Eddie Jordan sticks around. Not when Gilbert Arenas is already calling for a tank job and with the rest of the squad being worthy of a last place finish. They are awful to watch.

30. Oklahoma City Thunder(30) - They become the first team this season to fire a head coach and although I like P.J., he outstayed his welcome. The team looked uninspired under him and they played with a little fire under new coach Scott Brooks. Russell Westbrook is too much of a "me" player to learn the point guard position and I would try and move him to shooting guard. Kevin Durant needs to add some muscle and start playing more down in the post, but haven't we said that for two years? He may lack the work ethic to make him a great player in this league.

"Man I'm so hyped right now! Anything's possible!" Amidst the crying, yelling, and screaming that followed, we were able to distinguish Kevin Garnett above it all. Paul Pierce and Ray Allen were not as overly jubulant and we may have been able to make out what they were saying, but let's not fool ourselves: after years of those three superstars wasting away in mediocrity they were able to come together and give one of the greatest single season performances in NBA history. The Boston Celtics were an extremely proud franchise but had not been able to recover from the retiring of Larry Bird. Many experiments followed. The Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker tandem created the most excitment, but who expected Kenny Anderson and Tony Delk to lead this team to the promised land? Soon Walker left and the Celtics relied on Ryan Gomes and Sebastian Telfair (amongst a strange assortment of other players) to be missing pieces alongside Paul Pierce. Needless to say, the losses piled and the Celtics continued to look at mediocrity as a haven for the current state of their franchise. But then the Celtics found a rebuilding Supersonics team and it all changed. What followed was something right out of a fantasy league. Nobody could have imagined a team pitting Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen on the same NBA squad and hardly anyone could have imagined the three being able to mesh so seamlessly and also be able to generate the most out of a questionable supporting cast. But the "Boston Three Party" quickly came together and created a euphoria in Boston that was unimaginable just one year prior.

It's amazing what a couple of deals can do to the face of a franchise: and all of the teams in the Atlantic division can attest to it. They all seemed to mirror the Celtics vision of changing your franchise's outlook and direction with a couple of transactions and an influx of new players. For better or for worse: the Atlantic division teams are all brand new: except for the Celtics. Nobody can blame the Celtics for staying put, especially since the assortment of players performed so well last season and with Kevin Garnett still serving as the anchor for this squad we have no reason to believe that motivation and hunger should be an issue. But all of the other teams made moves, maybe in a panic, to grab that trophy that's currently in the Celtics possession. From the 76ers acquisition of Elton Brand, to the Raptors rolling the dice on Jermaine O'Neal, followed by the "Firesale For LeBron" sweepstakes in New Jersey and the arrival of a new regime in New York.

Yes, change is abundant in the Atlantic but as the old saying goes, "the more things change the more they stay the same." Plenty of big name players and contracts have been added to the other four competitors, but none of the aforementioned squads will be able to test the Celtics on their quest for back to back championships. All of the other teams will prove to be more competition to the Celtics than they were last year, but at the end of the day the team with the experience, talent, coaching and love for defensive play will stand tall above the rest of the teams in the division. Here's the outlook on the Atlantic division.

1) Boston Celtics - After last offseason's wheeling and dealing, the Celtics won a championship and had the luxury of keeping the team intact for this season. Hunger will be the only obstacle facing this team in its quest to capture a second championship trophy. Kevin Garnett is still the MVP of this team and will handle the onseason leadership role while Paul Pierce continues to show that his spot on the Finals MVP trophy is completely deserved. Ray Allen's production will continue to decrease as he settles into the role of a spectacular spot up shooter (but not much else). Rajon Rondo is already the best defensive point guard in the league and the sky is still the limit for this young guard as he figures to be penciled in as a top ten point guard for the next few years. Kendrick Perkins isn't much more than a big body and bruiser but he isn't needed for much more than his presence. Obviously the departure of James Posey hurts this team (and definitely cripples the bench) and will lessen the Celtics chances at a repeat. His production just simply cannot be replaced by Tony Allen, Eddie House, or Darius Miles. Doc Rivers emerged as someone who looks like he can coach after his taking Phil Jackson to school in the NBA finals. Time will tell if this team is as motivated as it was last season. All signs point to yes.

2) Philadelphia 76ers- Trying to capture the Magic that the Celtics obtained last season, the Sixers set out to pick up an inside presence that would allow Reggie Evans to slide back into a better suited bench role. Elton Brand is just what the doctor ordered; or at least it looks like it on paper. Elton Brand is one of five current players to have career averages of 20 points and 10 rebounds a game. He's had a stellar career but has lacked success regardless of his location. Of course, playing with the Bulls post-Jordan and then suiting up for the Clippers for seven years doesn't give you many opportunities to be successful but now is his best opportunity to show that he's not just a player who puts up good numbers on bad teams. If he can't get it done this season, he's nothing more than Shareef Abdur-Rahim. Andre Iguodala had a solid season last year in response to the critics who bashed Iggy for turning down the contract extension he was offered the previous summer. Iguodala still got his big contract but his performance against the Pistons last postseason is enough to make people second guess his ability to lead and deliver in clutch, crucial situations. As far as point guards go in this league, there aren't many as effecient and effective as Andre Miller is. He never misses games, plays good defense and owns one of the best lob passes in the league. Samuel Dalembert continues to improve at the center position and players like Louis Williams, Thaddeus Young and Willie Green help form the identity of what looks like a promising team. As has been pointed out, their lack of three point shooting could hurt them when the playoffs come around but it won't prevent them from reaching the postseason.

3) Toronto Raptors- Last year was a setback in many ways for the Toronto Raptors players, franchise and fans. The arrival of Bryan Colangelo seemed like a match made in heaven and the 2006-2007 Raptors brought Chris Bosh to the spotlight, got Sam Mitchell a coach of the year award and gave big expectations to Andrea Bargnani entering his second year in the league. Sam Mitchell proceeded to mishandle (badly) the point guard situation with T.J. Ford and Jose Calderon. An injury to Chris Bosh midseason derailed the Raptors and they never recovered. And Andrea Bargnani? When he wasn't pulling down 3 rebounds a game he was shooting near 30 percent from the three point line. Because of his horrible sophomore slump last season, the Raptors looked for an inside presence that could put this team into contention for an Eastern Confrence crown. As far as big names are concerned, acquiring Jermaine O'Neal is a big deal (even if it would have looked much better a few years ago). The team had to part ways with T.J. Ford and Rasho Nesterovic but with Jose Calderon poised and ready to step into the starting point guard role and with Jermaine O'Neal replacing Rasho Nesterovic, this team should be better than what they were last season. Still, let's not fool ourselves. This is a team that was outsted from the playoffs in five games. Unless Jermaine O'Neal turns the clock back three years they will suffer, roughly, the same fate this season. O'Neal never lived up to that humongous contract that the Pacers gave him and it's hard to imagine that playing out of position alongside a player who is a better version of what O'Neal used to be is going to revive O'Neal's game and career. Jason Kapono is deadly from three point range but aside from that, the Raptors don't posses that type of wing player who's capable of taking over a game with his playmaking abilities. Anthony Parker is equally effecient from behind the arc but isn't as lethal a shooter or as much of a threat as Kapono is. Their lack of a true center and their lack of effective, effecient wing players will prevent the Raptors from making a huge splash in the postseason.

4) New Jersey Nets - If you entered last year expecting the Nets to make one last run at an Eastern Confrence crown with Jason Kidd, Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter then don't feel foolish. It seemed like a match made in heaven - Jason Kidd running the court with outstanding leapers Jefferson and Carter by his side. For whatever reason, that "big three" was never able to get past the semifinals and after watching last season's mediocre season unfold, the Nets went into firesale mode. But don't confuse this as rebuilding. This team has nothing to build around; except for the prospect of landing LeBron James in 2010. Gone are Kidd and Jefferson, in come the promising Yi Jianlian and the ever talented but annoyingly inconsistent Devin Harris to help reshape this Nets team. Jianlian faltered greatly down the stretch last year as he did not handle the 82 game season very well. It's hard to imagine playing for China in the Beijing Olympics helped matters but we'll see what steps he took to improve this season. Devin Harris has been on the cusp the past few years, people eager to see him take over and lead a team. He's yet to do so but posted solid numbers after leaving the Mavericks for Jersey last February. Vince Carter is there in contract and in scoring but not much else. He just seems to glide nowadays and is a shadow of the player that he was back in Toronto. Add that to the frontcourt by committee and it's hard to imagine this team being anything more than competitive this season. But look for them to make some progress this season, especially if Carter is traded by midseason.

5) New York Knicks- Oh, the New York Knicks. What's left to be said of this team that hasn't already been said? After five plus years of torture inflicted onto the fickle New York fanbase courtesy of Isiah Thomas, in comes Donnie Walsh and Mike D'Antoni to save the day. Players love playing for D'Antoni's free spirit and light it up type of offense. Add that to the attractive market that is New York and the Knicks could be perceived as a team ready to turn the corner. Unfortunately, Isiah Thomas left this team stuck in the mud. With atrocious contracts being given to Eddy Curry, Jared Jeffries and Jerome James coupled with taking on ridiculous contracts of Stephon Marbury, Zach Randolph, Quentin Richardson, and Malik Rose, this team is in financial hell and God himself couldn't save them for this season or next. D'Antoni has his work cut out for him asking Curry and Randolph to leave the buffet table to run the floor and fit into his offense. If it looked awkward trying to incorporate Shaq into the Suns offense last season, one can imagine the fun of watching Eddy Curry and Zach Randolph running up and down the court and hustling. Good luck with that. Stephon Marbury seems like he would be a good fit for this offense, but didn't he look like a good fit alongside Kevin Garnett in Minnesota? Didn't he look like a good fit as the cornerstone in New Jersey? Didn't he look like a player who could bring the Suns what Jason Kidd couldn't? Looks can be deceiving. Stephon Marbury has underachieved on every team he's played for and aggrevated plenty of teammates and personnel over that period. The Knicks have players that fit the system in Richardson, Jamal Crawford, Nate Robinson and David Lee but the reigns of the D'Antoni offense will no longer be handled by Steve Nash, but instead should be headed by Chris Duhon. The only big time free agent acquisition for the Knicks is a low key guy who would be a solid backup on a really good team but hardly is a man to run a complex offense of overpaid crybabies nor is he a candidate to lead them anywhere. His "party boy" tendencies also could be further exposed with the New York media paying close attention to him. Look for New York fans to be extremely patient this year and with this roster as currently constructed, they'll need all that patience and then some.